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About 500 plush dogs and cats are spread out with help from Lackawanna County Sheriff’s Department Cpl. Corey Cavalieri on Thursday at the Aaron Center in Dickson City, with more stuffed animals to be donated in the next few weeks.
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On the morning of Dec. 7, 1941, Joseph P. McDonald manned the switchboard at Fort Shafter in Hawaii when he received the alarming message that radar had detected a large number of planes approaching from the north, heading fast for Oahu.
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Associated Press
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Published: May 5, 2014

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Kelsey James hugs Reckless, her dog which the Keansburg family found Thursday, May 1, 2014, at the Monmouth County SPCA, a year and a half after Reckless was lost during Superstorm Sandy.(AP Photo/The Asbury Park Press, Mark R. Sullivan)

The James family of Eatontown who found their dog "Reckless" a year and half after losing it during Superstorm Sandy. Here the family poses for a photograph in Neptune. Chuck James, center, with "Reckless" and wife Elicia, left, and children Kelsey, left, Ally, center, and Liam, on knee. (AP Photo/The Asbury Park Press, Mark R. Sullivan) Mark R. Sullivan/staff photographer On Friday May 2,2014 Neptune

EATONTOWN, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey family whose terrier-pit bull mix escaped from their backyard during Superstorm Sandy went to an animal shelter this week to adopt a new pet and came home with their old dog.

Chuck James tells The Associated Press that his family searched for the brown-and-white dog named Reckless for months after the October 2012 storm before finally giving up hope.

"We reported him missing and called the shelters periodically, just hoping they had him," James said Saturday. "We always kept our hopes up, but eventually it's time to move on."

James said the family had planned in recent weeks to get a new dog as a 10th birthday surprise for their eldest daughter, Ally.

But when the family of five went to the Monmouth County SPCA on Thursday to adopt a new animal, James and his wife approached the first cage and saw a familiar face inside.

"He was a little bigger than I remembered because they had fed him well," James joked. "But then he was laying on my wife's feet, and I knew it was him. ... I was in disbelief. I know this dog is meant to be with our family."

When SPCA officials asked if they could prove the animal was their dog, a friend sent over a picture showing the family with their dog before Sandy hit the Jersey shore.

"We're all so happy to have him back," James said. "Thank God for no-kill shelters because every time they kill an animal, it's somebody's friend who might be lost. Thank God they didn't put him down because this would have been a different story."

SPCA officials say Reckless was picked up as a stray and has now been microchipped.

The family is living in a hotel while their storm-damaged Keansburg home is repaired. This weekend, the Jameses went on a camping trip with Reckless to celebrate the dog's return.

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